Italian chef dismissed in Brisbane after refusing to make pineapple pizza

Chef Davide Tamburella was dismissed from the now-closed La Costa Restaurant and Bar in Brisbane after the third refusal in four years to prepare a ham and pineapple pizza. The chef said adding pineapple to an Italian pizza was "an insult to his culture," according to the Fair Work Commission ruling.

The employer cited concerns about Tamburella’s language and workplace conduct, and the dismissal was upheld by Australia’s national workplace tribunal, which found the claim did not meet the required criteria and was lodged too late.

"Pineapple on pizza isn’t my absolute favourite, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at it, that’s for sure," said former boss Elliot Ingram, adding that there was “more to this story than a pizza topping.”

La Costa closed in July after its lease expired, and Tamburella has since taken a position as head chef at Don Gino in Brisbane’s West End. The restaurant’s menu does not list pineapple as a topping.